It Started with a Pump
by virtualApocalypse
Summary: It was just supposed to be a quick pit stop, that was all. Instead it was filled with humiliation and embarrassment, all thanks to E. Aster Bunnymund.


Jack was stiff and sore. They had been driving for three hours straight without any breaks or pit stops. Currently the white-haired boy was splayed across the blankets and pillows that were piled like a mountain in the back seat between him and Aster. Toothiana was driving into town to fill up on gas; they were beginning to run low and it was uncertain if they could make it to the next town before running on empty.

Sandy looked over at Jack from his place in the passenger seat and gave the exasperated boy a kind smile, as if to say 'just hang in there'. From his position, Jack could see telephone poles appearing more frequently across the window and knew that the car would be stopping soon.

Before he could bring himself to sit up Aster smacked the side of his head and said, "Get up ya' Gumby, we're stopping." Reluctantly, he sat up in his seat and lazily looked out the window.

The car pulled up to the gas pump that was on the far right of the lot and the closest to the small convenience store. As soon as the car came to a stop Jack flung the side door open and exuberantly tried to step outside only to be yanked back by his still buckled seatbelt. He ignored Aster's chuckle and focused on undoing the intrusive strap across his chest.

A click. A step. Freedom.

Jack lifted both of his arms above his head, stretching his body out similar to a cat. It was sweet relief after being cramped up inside the car. Once his back cracked he was filled with satisfaction and let out a sigh as he stood up properly.

When the four friends were all outside the car, they made a plan of who would do what. Toothiana was going to go to the bathroom and pay for the gas, Sandy was to grab some snacks from the convenience store, Aster was to fill up the tank and finally Jack was to clean the windshield of the insect guts that were littered across it.

Once they parted ways it was only Jack and Aster by the car. To try and stave off the work a little longer the white-haired boy was about to strike up a conversation with his friend when Aster beat him to it.

"Look at that sweet car."

Turning towards the direction that his friend was facing, Jack barely saw the vehicle before his attention was pulled away. Two pumps over there was a guy standing next to the aforementioned vehicle. He was leanly built with a mess of thick brown hair that hung low in front of his face and obscured the view of skin painted in freckles.

Jack felt the heat rise to his cheeks and his palms became clammy. As he continued staring at the stranger he saw a freckled hand lift up towards the guy's forehead and brush his bangs backwards, his other hand lay on his hip. With his left hand above his head the edge of his T-shirt was lifted up slightly to reveal a small strip of skin by his hipbone. Even from where he stood Jack could see that freckles cluttered the expanse of tan skin.

Tearing his eyes away from the sight he looked back at the guys face. The brunet just stood like that, hand still in his hair, a huff left his chest and he casually glanced to his side, eyes connecting with Jacks.

He felt a quick pang of disappointment upon realizing he couldn't make out the boy's eye colour from this distance. That was until it dawned on him what actually happened; the heat in Jack's face tripled. He'd been caught staring. He tried his best to make it appear as if it was only a casual glance by turning back towards the car, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets, trying to appear normal.

Jack slightly tilted his head in Aster's direction and harshly whispered the boy's name. Said friend turned his attention to the speaker and quirked an inquisitive brow at Jack's odd behavior.

"Okay, don't look, but that guy over there," Jack nudged his head in the direction of the brunet, "is really attractive." Despite Jack's order Aster looked over his shoulder to see who he was referring to. Immediately after the dark haired male spotted the mentioned individual Jack grabbed his shoulder and forced him to face their car again. "I said don't look," he growled.

Aster exasperatedly rolled his eyes but stayed in the position that Jack had maneuvered him into.

"Ya' going to go talk to 'im?" He inquired.

Jack started at the question, and completely mortified by the idea he immediately replied, "no, of course not."

His best friend just sighed, like he had heard the record for the final time. "Ya' always say that, an' that's why yer still single."

The white-haired boy couldn't deny that much. Any previous time he had done nothing about the people whom he found to be physically appealing, not even talking to them. "I can't do that Aster, did you see him?"

"Yeah, he's probably dating that blonde chick with him."

I was strange that Aster would say that, he usually always tried to encourage Jack to pursue the person despite his hesitance to do so. So it came as a surprise that he tried to shut down his chance. As a response to Asters statement as well as the despondent thoughts he emotionlessly said, "what?" Corresponding with his vocals he turned his upper body in the direction that the stranger was in.

There was, in fact, a blonde girl with him. The two were standing near the front of the vehicle, holding a conversation that was too quiet for Jack to hear.

The gloomy air that had fallen upon Jack grew heavier. The two individuals did look quite familiar with one another, which only years of knowing each other could achieve.

There was a slight sting in Jack's chest, but he ignored it, it wasn't like he'd ever actually talk to the guy. He'd stick with admiring from afar.

Still looking over at the duo, the white haired boy caught the eyes of the girl who glanced his way. A slight blush crept back onto his face; he really should try to be more discreet in the stolen glances he gave people.

Jack turned away from them and back to the car. To keep his eyes as well as his thoughts from straying to the pair he began his designated job. He left Aster without a word and picked up the squeegee that rested inside bucket.

As Jack was cleaning the windshield he found that it was harder to keep his thoughts off of the brunet boy and that glimpse of tantalizing skin he saw. He had to force himself not to look over in hopes of maybe seeing the strangers shirt ride up a little more. Taunt freckled skin over sharp hipbones. His thoughts were trying to stray in the direction of his stomach, was it just as taut, firm and freckled? Did the freckles go up to his chest? What about below the belt?

Jack lowered the squeegee from the clean windshield and shook his head. He had to stop thinking about it. It was slim to none that anything would happen, so he just needed to focus on his task and block out the very good looking brunet. So he wouldn't be tempted Jack began washing the other five windows, forcing himself not to think about the brunet.

Even though he tried to put it off by going at a slug's pace, Jack did finish cleaning all the windows. Successfully at that, he hadn't thought of the freckled boy again.

After putting the wiper back in the appointed spot he looked around to find that Aster was gone and the tank was filled up. Jack supposed that he could've gone inside to maybe use the bathroom, but Aster would have told him, right? Well with what happened earlier, maybe not.

Jack was going to take one more look around before hopping back in the car, but he had found what he was searching for. Instead of being satisfied that he found his friend he was actually filled with apprehension; Aster was talking to the handsome stranger and whoever that blonde girl was.

The blue eyed boy had known Aster for years, and he took amusement from Jack's embarrassment. So seeing his best friend talking to the guy who he found incredibly attractive was _not_ a good sign.

Making a split second decision, the pale boy headed towards the trio in hopes of getting Aster away before he blabbed about something humiliating. Just thinking about what he could have said made his chest tighten.

It only took a few strides to get to the group, when he did Jack placed his elbow on the taller boys shoulder and applied more pressure than necessary, earning a glare from his best friend. "Hey, I was wondering where you went Aster," there was a subtle strand of hostility in his voice that only his friend picked up.

"I had to come and check out this car, can you believe that Hiccup made it out of scrap parts?" The glare that was on his face melted once he mentioned the enthralling vehicle.

"Hiccup?" Jack questioned.

The brunet that Jack had been admiring earlier lifted up his hand in a lazy and somewhat awkward wave, "it's mostly a nickname, it just stuck." Oh God. Even his voice was beautiful. Jack stood there a bit awestruck for a moment.

From here he could see Hiccups eyes, which were an amazing hue of green, a little darker than an emerald but brighter than a forest, and more vibrant than both.

Aster was the one who swooped in and saved him before he made a complete fool of himself, "You can relate, right, Jack Frost?"

Realizing that he had just been silently staring Jack focused back on his friend before he started drooling over Hiccup.

"I sure can, Kangaroo." A smirk graced his face as he looked at his friend's disgruntled expression.

Jack was still leaning against Asters shoulder, so to take advantage of that, the latter jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. There was enough force behind it that the pale boy took a step away.

"I've told you to stop calling me that."

Holding up both of his hands in a faux show of surrender Jack said, "you don't need to get so mad about it, Bunny." The glare on his friends face intensified, which brought out a perfectly white grin from the trickster.

Aster brought up a hand and lightly back-handed Jack in the arm, the exchange caused the other two to smile in amusement. The brunet chose then to speak, "this is Astrid by the way," Hiccup explained as he nodded to the girl on his right. "So are you guys heading somewhere out of town?" With the surprised looks on the duo's faces he elaborated, "your car's pretty packed."

"Yeah, we're going camping up north for a week, we jus' needed to make a pit stop." The taller of the friends took to answering. "Wha' about you two?"

Astrid was the one to speak this time, "we're going to visit some family back in Berk before summer ends and classes start back up." The best friends nodded in understanding.

"That's not far from our home town, Burgess." Jack added, he'd never been to Berk, he just knew it used to be an old fishing town when it was first founded.

The blonde girl's eyes lit up slightly as she looked to Aster, "we've been there a few times, there are definitely more hot guys there than in Berk." Jack's eyes skeptically shifted to Hiccup, if all the men in Berk were as handsome as the brunet, then Jack doubted that Burgess had more attractive guys.

Aster looked over at his friend through the corner of his eye and caught Jack's not-so-subtle glance, in turn the blue eyed boy saw the sly smirk that was on his best friends face. Trepidation settled into his bones.

"Jack would say that the real hottie is-" Blue eyes widened above pink cheeks, muscles tensed; he _could not_ let Aster finish that sentence. To stop the slightly taller boy from humiliating him Jack brought his arm around his friend's neck in a headlock and pulled him downwards. Thankfully it shut him up. For now.

Ignoring the other boys struggle to be freed, Jack looked over the dark head of hair and sheepishly smiled at the other two, who traded glances.

"Don't mind him, sometimes he doesn't know when to shut up, or-" Jacks hold tightened a bit more, "-mind his own business."

Right after finishing his sentence, Aster was able to jerk out of the headlock. Rubbing his neck he said, "geez mate, don't need to be so rough." The disgruntled expression on his face evaporated into a superior smirk. "I won't say anything about thinking that-" Jack was going in for another headlock, but Aster saw it coming and turned his back on his charging friend.

The white-haired boy knew that if he didn't shut Aster up he would finish the sentence, so he jumped onto his back and covered his friends mouth with both of his hands. The scene went into a frenzy, Aster was trying to buck off Jack like a raging bull, while the pale boy held on chanting, "Surrender!"

Hiccup and Astrid were at a loss. Aster kept running around in a small area trying and failing at getting Jack off of his back, the scene was drawing other passerby's attention.

The blue eyed boy was fervently trying to make Aster completely back down from mentioning anything about his feelings in front of the other two. They were in a stalemate, both too stubborn to back down, that is until they heard laughter. Jack became silent and his mount stopped running around at the sound. They both looked up to see Hiccup and Astrid in hysterics. Jack zoned in on the noise leaving Hiccup, his heart felt like it was being coated in a layer of cotton balls. His heartbeat was dull to his ears, it felt trapped, constricted, chained; _taken._

Both Aster and Jack's cheeks flushed at the thought of how foolish they probably looked. Jack slid back onto the ground, releasing his grip from his friend. Once back on the ground he rubbed the back of his neck, trying in vain to appear casual.

When the two laughing friends finally calmed down enough Astrid spoke, "you two remind me of our friends Ruff an' Tuff," she knowingly turned towards Hiccup, "though there is a distinct difference."

Perfect green eyes widened minutely, a small amount of warmth rising to his face, but Hiccup completely ignored the insinuation in the latter of Astrid's statement. "They're way more violent towards each other than you two are. Though I would like to know what Aster was going to say." Hiccup added amused.

Jack's face dropped, he had no doubt that his best friend would try to jump back into trying to humiliate him. So it came as a surprise when he said, "I don't want ta' wear Jack as a backpack again," he turned to face Jack and smirked, "so why don't you tell 'em?"

The pale boy was woeful that the topic had been brought back to his feelings. Even so, at the mention that they may be revealed his face flared up with heat, and with the look in all three of their eyes he knew that they wouldn't drop it.

"I'm going to go find Tooth and Sandy." The words came out so fast that it took a couple of seconds to decipher, by then Jack had already ran to the entrance of the store, leaving the other three in the lot.

When Jack got past the doorway he let out a breath. That was so _embarrassing!_ He rubbed his hands over his face in the hopes that it would erase the redness that was so noticeable on his pale skin. His plan of action was to just avoid Hiccup and Astrid, because if he wasn't anywhere near them, then Aster couldn't humiliate him. His friend _could_ still tell them that he thought Hiccup was cute, but Jack didn't think that he would. Aster liked to embarrass him but if he wasn't within sight then it wouldn't be as fun for the taller boy.

Removing his hands from his face Jack saw Toothiana at the counter, her and the cashier giving him quizzical looks. Avoiding that conversation the white haired boy turned down the first aisle to get away from the stares.

He ended up finding Sandy at the very back, looking over the drinks through the glass windows of the refrigerators. His arms were already piled full of snacks that precariously looked like they were going to fall. As Jack approached, his short friend noticed him and smiled, the blue eyed boy tried his best to smile back, but it was a bit lackluster.

A questioning look overcame the blonde boys face, but Jack waved his concern away and freed most of the treats from Sandy's hold and captured them in his own. The stout boy gave Jack a grateful nod as he reached to open up the door, letting a wave of cool air out.

"So do we need anything else?" The pale boy inquired.

Sandy shook his head negatively. Once the beverages were chosen they would be able to purchase their items. The short blond boy reached inside the belly of the refrigerator and selected the drinks that each of the four friends would prefer.

When the door was finally closed and the cool air ceased drafting over them they were joined by Toothiana who finished paying for their gas. "Do you need help carrying some of that?"

Sandy shook his head from side-to-side in reply, and even though both of Jack's arms were full he said, "nah, I've got it."

The brown haired girl nodded in understanding before her face contorted into a look of concern. "Are you alright Jack? You were a bit flustered when you came in." Both Sandy and Tooth looked questioningly at their friend.

Jack huffed out a sigh and his shoulders drooped.

"Aster tried his damnedest to embarrass me in front of a cute guy and I just ended up making a fool of myself anyway."

Sandy had shifted the four bottles into one arm so he could place a reassuring palm on Jack's elbow. He gave a grateful smile in return.

Even though there was the ghost of melancholy hanging around them Toothiana's eyes brightened and she clasped her hands together.

"But you actually talked to someone you liked?!" If she was any more excited she'd be jumping in place.

Jack could understand her enthusiasm, he didn't so much as go within ten feet of anyone he liked. He preferred to admire from afar, that way he wouldn't have to face rejection, or even worse, insults about him being 'unsavory'. But just because he understood didn't mean that he had to like it.

"Tooth, please. Whatever chance I had is gone, I'd rather not think about the 'development' I made."

Her shoulders slumped a bit and the smile on her face vanished, but a spark still lingered in her eyes. "Alright, we'll just talk about it later."

"I don't know if I'll-" There was a little chiming sound, indicating that someone had entered the small establishment that previously only had the three friends and a cashier. Jack looked towards the noise, wondering if it was Aster. Instead he harshly whispered, "get down!" When they only gave him quizzical stares he managed to grab onto one of the arms attached to each of his friends and yank them down; he dropped some chip bags in the process.

Toothiana tried to ask what was going on, but was verbally shushed by Jack and a pale hand that got placed over her mouth. He ignored the glare that the pixie-like girl gave him and instead stealthily peered around the corner of the shelf and looked at the counter.

Turning back to his friends he quietly explained, "that's him." Jack tried to stop Toothiana from trying to take a look herself, but she shoved his hand away and saw a brunet guy standing at the cash register, seeming to be paying for something.

Even with his back to her, Toothiana could tell that he had an attractive physique.

"He has a nice butt." She was still looking when Jack nudged her side and gave an almost offended look. "Well it's true. You should go talk to him."

Immediately he shook his head in refusal.

"C'mon Jack, Aster isn't here to embarrass you, and he probably doesn't think you were making a fool of yourself earlier." Beside her Sandy nodded in agreement, prompting him to go and speak to the guy.

The longer that they prodded the more excited they got about the whole thing. Jack finally had enough.

"Guys, please." He pointedly looked at Toothiana for the next part, "if you get any louder then he'll know that we're here." Jack had no doubt that Hiccup had probably heard faint whispers of their conversation, his face heated up at the thought.

"That'd be good! If he came over here you would have no choice but to talk to him!" A pure white smile widened on her face, anticipation making her hands quake.

Jack rubbed his free hand across his face, he knew that his friends wanted what was best for him, and wanted him to be happy, but when it came to relationships he froze up. His confidence drained from every pore and instead of facing it head-on like he would most things, he turned and hid. Of course he didn't _like_ how it always came to that, but it wasn't something that was so easily overcome, which his friends tried to be supportive of and also trying to push him towards.

There was a soft chime that came from the entrance, Jack tentatively looked around the shelve corner and saw Hiccup's retreating back. He let out an anxious breath that planted in his lungs when he thought the brunet may have _actually_ come over to where they were situated, a tiny dose of disappointment accompanied it.

"We should go pay for this stuff and get back on the road." Jack picked up the few things that had gotten jostled out of his arms and walked to the counter. Concerned looks were swapped between the two friends who were following behind.

Their items were quickly scanned by the cashier who had an inquisitive look on his face. They ignored it and paid for their snacks before heading back outside.

Despite the embarrassment and humiliation Jack couldn't stop himself from glancing over to where Hiccup and Astrid had parked. Aster was still mingling with the blonde, but Hiccup was no longer amongst the conversation. The trunk of the car was open and Jack could see a pair of legs by the bumper, but not the face of the person. It might've been a blessing to him, because if he saw Hiccup he would've been tempted to keep staring until something blocked his line of sight, no matter how much he wanted to be tempted.

Once they arrived at the car they put most of the plastic bags in the backseat on the floor and the remaining ones up front. Wanting to just get out of this place and forget the humiliation that he endured Jack hopped back into his seat and sullenly waited for the others.

Toothiana ended up being the one to go and grab Aster from the conversation he was having with Astrid, who quickly passed the blonde something before she arrived. The trio talked for a short while before they separated. Both of his friends got back into the car, and for the most part it was silent.

Jack had his window rolled down once Toothiana had the car running. They pulled around the front of the store and Jack could see Hiccup and Astrid also about to leave. The blonde was already in the driver's seat ready to go while Hiccup was just about to get inside the vehicle himself with the door wide open.

Out of his peripheral Jack saw Aster lean in around him and out of the window. The blue eyed boy had the right to be suspicious, because milliseconds later he yelled, "Jack thinks yer're cute!"

Mortified, the mentioned boy used both hands to shove Aster's face away from the open window and back to his side of the car. Using his right hand to keep his friend in place he then rolled up the window with the other.

"Why would you do that!? Didn't you humiliate me enough earlier!?" Jack just stared at Aster after his outburst with a betrayed expression on his face. Toothiana cut in before he could speak up.

"That was a bit much, don't you think?"

"A bit!? Did you see how many people were there? I can never go back to that town!" The pale boy was getting more worked up the longer he dwelled on what had happened.

Aster was taking Jack's anger in stride and remained calm as he got increasingly agitated. When it appeared that the white haired boy had nothing left to add, he spoke up.

"There was like two other people gettin' gas, that doesn't make the whole town condemned," he said.

Such a calm response only upset Jack even more.

"You don't feel bad about what you did, what kind of friend would do that?" The incredulous tone portrayed how dismayed he was about Aster's attitude towards what he had done.

"Maybe it was just supposed to be a joke, it's unlikely that you'll probably see any of those people again anyway, right?" Toothiana added, but by the uncertainty in her voice it was clear that she didn't completely believe what she was saying.

"It doesn't matter if I never see any of them again, he still broke my trust by telling Hiccup that I thought he was good looking. It's even worse if it was a joke."

Going off topic the pixie-esque girl said, "so that's his name, cute name for a cute boy."

"Tooth!" Came the indignant response from Jack.

Apologetically, she looked over her shoulder briefly and gave an embarrassed smile, "sorry."

"It's only a nickname," Jack quietly mumbled. Returning to a regular voice he continued, "but the point is you still did it." He looked over to Aster questioningly with wide eyes.

Aster released a sigh with a roll of his eyes, "you're making this a bigger deal than it needs to be. The point is, you're going to thank me for this one day."

"Thank you?" Jack was dumbfounded, by now he was thinking that maybe his friend had finally gone crazy after too many eggs to the head, it would explain the oddness of his actions.

"Yer're welcome. See, was that so hard?" A smug expression settled on his face.

The prize for that quip was a deadpan stare and a light jab to the shoulder.

"I'm being serious," Jack exasperatedly replied.

The smile on Asters face ran off and was replaced by a neutral look.

"Me too."

Slightly taken aback by the blunt response, it took a few seconds for Jack to think about the implications. He sounded truthful, but with the times today that he had Aster pegged wrong he didn't trust his initial judgments. Could he be trying to fool Jack again? His eyebrows furrowed and he was about to start arguing with him, but was interrupted by Sandy who leaned between the two front seats and peered at the two in the back before waving his hands in a don't-be-too-hasty fashion.

He rummaged through a few of the bags that lay on the floor and tossed each boy a candy bar in an effort to get the two to stop fighting. Jack let out a breath that took his anger with it, he didn't want to make the car ride unbearable for his other two friends, no matter how much he wanted to yell at Aster. He thankfully took the candy and gave Sandy a tired smile in appreciation.

After returning the gesture the blonde boy turned back to the front and turned on the radio. Knowing that looking at Aster would bring back his anger full force, Jack opted to stare out of his window and watch the buildings dwindle as they left.

Once they exited the city limits there was a singular vibrating noise. Looking down towards the door handle Jack saw his phone screen light up before it darkened again.

A bit confused, Jack grabbed his phone to check the message. Everyone he texted regularly knew that he was going camping and would likely not have service, so either it was really important or a wrong number. Unlocking his phone he went to the message screen and saw an unknown number, he opened the thread to let the person know that they had the wrong number, but before he could do so his eyes widened, his chest clenched, heat arose to his face and the corners of his lips twitched into a smile.

 _I think you're cute too_

Jack's grip on the device tightened before he discreetly looked over at Aster who had his arm resting on the window edge. Maybe he should thank him, but after he sent off a reply.


End file.
